One light, the one from the southbound ramp, will be at the front entrance of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, said Bill Fuqua, general superintendent of the Holyoke Department of Public Works. The intersection near the soldier's home had been identified by the state as dangerous. It was the location of a fatal traffic accident last year.

This stretch of Cherry Street is Route 202.

Other improvements may include new pavement markings and signage, according to the state DOT.

The project is expected to cost $1.3 million and construction began this spring. Work is expected to be completed in spring 2016.

Fuqua said the state is doing a similar traffic-signal project just to the south at the intersection of Homestead Avenue and Lower Westfield Road. That project is expected to be completed in 2015.